


Lily the First Year (OR: The Origin Story of Lily Evans Potter)

by SpeakeroftheDead



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, Minor James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Origin Story, POV Lily Evans Potter, harry potter's parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-06-10 14:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6960589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpeakeroftheDead/pseuds/SpeakeroftheDead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily Evans has just received her Hogwarts owl on her 11th birthday (just like Severus said she would).  Now she must learn to navigate a new school and the Wizarding World, with a little help from her Muggle parents and a magical friend or two along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily's 11th birthday brings more than just cake.

Lily woke bright and early on the morning of her 11th birthday. _Today’s the day_ , she thought as she leaped out of bed. Severus had told her it would come today. Lily could not decide if she was more nervous, excited, or apprehensive. What if it did not come? Petunia had not gotten one. Still, Lily could not help feeling she would be different. After all, Petunia had never shown any signs of being a witch and she, Lily, could already do so much thanks to Sev.

Lily bounced down the stairs to the kitchen where her family sat eating breakfast. Her mother had made blueberry pancakes, Lily’s favorite, for her special day. Lily had yet to tell her parents what she could do, for fear of how they would react. Certainly they had caught her doing strange things she often could not control or explain, but she had never revealed that she knew why the strange things occurred. Petunia did not like what she could do, attempting to stop her from using magic as much as possible, so what was there to say her parents would not react the same way?

Suddenly, a big barn owl came soaring up to the kitchen window and rapped its beak smartly against the glass. Sev had warned Lily that was how it would come. Lily, however, had not warned her family. Their reactions were predictable. Mrs. Evans shrieked and nearly toppled her chair. Mr. Evans let out a loud yell but recovered in time to catch his wife. Petunia appeared startled, but merely glared at the owl as though it were the most offensive creature in the world.

Lily rose from her chair and made her way slowly, nervously, to the window. She noticed a thick, official-looking envelope tied to the owl’s leg and quickly opened the window to allow it inside. As it settled onto the kitchen counter, Mrs. Evans recovered from her state of shock. “Lily, good heavens! What on earth are you doing?”

“It’s okay mum, I know why the owl is here.” Lily paused then, still unsure she wished her parents to know but certain she must tell them, now that the owl had actually arrived.

“Remember all those things that have happened to me that I can’t explain?” Lily asked.

“Yes dear, why? What is it?” Mrs. Evans replied, perplexed.

“Mum, Dad, I’m a witch.”

It may have been reasonable for Lily to hope that her parents would not laugh, scoff, or otherwise react in a manner such as they did, seeing as she was 11 and it was not at all difficult for her to accept it, but of course, they did. Chuckling, Mr. Evans turned to his daughter and stroked her brilliant red hair.

“Lily dear,” he began, “a _witch_? What ever do you mean?”

“It’s true!” Lily cried, indignantly, “think of all the things that have happened to me that I couldn’t explain! It was magic! Here, read this!”

Having already been told by Severus a majority of what the letter would say, Lily felt it would be better to let her parents read it for themselves, even if she had not yet had the chance.

Lily watched as her parents read, their eyebrows rising steadily. Mrs. Evans was the first to look up. “Lily,” she said slowly, “wha-what is this? I’ve never heard of—,” she paused then, seeming to be unsure of how to pronounce the name. Glancing up at Lily as if she were seeing her for the first time, Mrs. Evans took a deep breath and began again.

“I’ve never heard of Hogwarts School before. What’s the meaning of this? ‘Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?’ As if to say, _magic_?”

“Mum, I—“

“Is this real? Good heavens, it can’t be real! What am I saying?”

“Mum, please!” Lily exclaimed. “Let me explain, please.”

Mr. Evans, who had not been paying the slightest bit of attention to the exchange looked up then and asked, “Where can we find these things?” for he had turned to the second piece of parchment accompanying the letter and was reading down the list of items required of the First Years.

Mrs. Evans, who was not quite used to her husband’s inattentiveness even after a couple decades of marriage, turned to him with an incredulous look. “ _What_ things?” she asked.

“There’s a whole list here: uniforms, course books, other equipment,” Mr. Evans paused, “ _other_ equipment? ‘One _wand_ , one cauldron (pewter, standard size 2), one set glass or crystal phials, one telescope, one set brass scales, students may also bring an owl **or**  a cat  **or** a toad.’ Lily, do they mean a _real_ wand?”

Mr. Evans’s face was only slightly perplexed while a quick glance to her mother revealed that Mrs. Evans’s was thoroughly baffled.

“My friend – Severus – from over on Spinner’s End, he’s a wizard. His parents are wizards, too. He explained everything to me.”

“That boy is bad news,” Petunia huffed, though the comment largely went unnoticed.

“Is that the black-haired boy who keeps hanging around here?” Mr. Evans asked, giving Lily a shrewd look.

“ _Dad_ , he’s just a friend!” Lily exclaimed, “but yes, that’s him.”

“And this boy… He’s a wizard?” Mr. Evans continued, ignoring Lily’s blush.

Lily explained that Severus had noticed her accidentally doing magic and, knowing what he did about the Wizarding World, shared his knowledge with her. She explained that families like theirs, non-magic folk, were called “Muggles” and that sometimes “Muggle” families produced witches and wizards. The “Muggle-born” witches and wizards were invited to attend the Wizarding schools and the Statute of Secrecy, which protected the Wizarding World from being exposed, was lifted for the families of Muggle-borns.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans listened closely to what their daughter was telling them and did not interrupt, except with the occasional quiet exclamation of surprise. Neither of them noticed as Petunia, who was sulking in her chair up until that point, stalked out of the kitchen.

“Lily,” Mrs. Evans began, “If all this is true – I mean it must be because I can’t see you going to this length for a simple practical joke – then where are we to go to buy the items on this list? And how are you to get there?”

“Sev– well, my friend, he told me about a place in London where we can buy the stuff; and there’s a train that leaves from King’s Cross station – there should be a ticket – from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o’clock.” At this Lily’s parents laughed.

“What platform is it, did you say dear?” Mr. Evans chuckled.

“Nine and three-quarters,” Lily replied.

“Why, Lily dear, that platform doesn’t exist, surely you can’t be serious!” Mrs. Evans laughed again. But Lily wasn’t laughing.

“Mum, Dad, don’t you think the wizards would have hidden the platform, considering they’ve hidden away an entire world?”

Mr. and Mrs. Evans stopped laughing and stared at Lily. They had never truly appreciated before how intelligent their youngest daughter was.

“Right then. How do you get to the platform?” Mr. Evans asked solemnly.

“There is a barrier between platforms nine and ten,” Lily explained, “You walk through the bricks in the barrier and on the other side is the platform. You know, like _magic_.”

Lily’s parents looked utterly perplexed. The very thought of walking through a solid wall had left them in a sort of stunned silence.

“Surely that can’t be true,” said Mr. Evans slowly, “Are you certain, dear, that you have your facts straight?”

“I’m not wrong, you’ll see, but what’s more important right now is that we have to buy my school supplies. The train leaves on September 1st and I don’t want to be unprepared,” Lily replied.

“Right, of course. Now where in London is this place where we can buy your supplies? We’ll have to plan ahead for this, from Cokeworth it’s about a 3-hour drive,” said Mr. Evans, turning to his wife.

“Well,” Lily began, again unsure, “Severus told me that if we bring my Hogwarts letter to a pub called the Leaky Cauldron – which apparently is invisible to Muggles unless they are told where it is – and show it to the bartender named Tom, he will help us get to the street we need.”

“Well it’s settled then,” Mr. Evans proclaimed, “We’ll go next week.”

Lily hugged both her parents, elated that they were so accepting of the situation, but disappointed as well. Unlike her parents, she _had_ noticed her older sister leave. She had hoped, somewhat vainly, that Petunia’s aversion to what she was would go away once the letter arrived. The moment was bittersweet as she realized her life would never be the same.


	2. Severus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily goes to meet Severus down by the river.

Lily took the stairs back to her room two at a time. Severus would be waiting for her down by the river; he knew it was her birthday and he would want to know when the letter came. They met there often to talk about the Wizarding World. Lily wanted to know everything she could before she joined it. Certainly it would not be nice to feel excluded.

It occurred to Lily, as she changed out of her pajamas, that Petunia was probably experiencing something in that manner. Lily’s parents rarely seemed to pay Petunia any mind at all, but after this they would likely discount her entirely.

Lily felt a pang of guilt as she passed the doorway to her older sister’s room and saw her staring miserably off into the garden. Petunia turned when she heard Lily stop.

“Come to rub it in my face some more?” She said bitterly.

“No, Tuney, I–“ Lily began, but Petunia cut her off.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses and I don’t need your pity! You’re a freak and I don’t envy you the least! Now get out!”

Tears pricked at Lily’s eyes. She could not understand why her beloved sister had been so cross with her since she had developed her magic. She sighed softly and, letting just one tear fall, turned away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily made her way up the narrow cobbled streets slowly down the mill near to the water’s edge. The river in Cokeworth had been dirty for as long as she could remember. She and Severus did not play in the water, instead they spent their time laying in the overgrown weeds along the banks, watching the clouds and talking.

She found him buried between the cattails and too high grasses, waiting for her. She called out a greeting and he sat up, smiling broadly.

“Has it come then?” Severus asked.

“Yes, of course! You knew it would, Sev,” Lily replied.

“I had to be sure, didn’t I? I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t gotten it…” Severus’s voice trailed off. Lily knew Severus was a secluded child but she had hoped the prospects of meeting many other children just like them would open him up a little bit. She could see now she was wrong.

“I still don’t see why you want to be in Slytherin!” Lily proclaimed after a few moments’ awkward silence, “Snakes are creepy, I would much rather be in Gryffindor. I’d like to think I’m brave.” She was continuing a conversation they had had a few days before, when Severus had explained the four Hogwarts Houses to her. He wanted to be in Slytherin like his parents had been before him, but Lily did not like the sound of it. Severus’s voice took on an edge that she was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with whenever he discussed it.

“I know you think that, Lil, but you don’t understand just yet. You will when you get there, trust me,” Severus replied.

“Don’t tell me I don’t understand, you know very well that I do,” Lily huffed.

Severus sighed imperceptibly and lay back down in the grass. He knew it was no use arguing with her and he did not want her angry with him so he closed his eyes and waited.

A few moments later, as Severus expected, Lily sighed too and lay down next to him. He knew she could not stay mad and inwardly he rejoiced. Glancing over at her, he saw that she too had closed her eyes and felt slightly disappointed. Her long, red hair fanned out around her head like a halo in the grass. He longed for one of the days when he could see her emerald eyes shine at him as she laughed and teased him, but he knew today would not be one of those days. Petunia had already seen to that. Resigning himself to simply enjoy her company, he closed his eyes again and sank into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowieeee whoops it's been 2 weeks since i posted the first chapter! i meant to post this one a week ago (tuesdays were totally my planned way ahead schedule for posting, obviously) but i was out of the state sooo here y'all go <3 (also sorry this chapter is v short)
> 
> i'm totally gonna post the next chapter next tuesday (finger crossed, please don't hold me to this i'm moving houses and god life's a mess ain't it)
> 
> float like a butterfly, sting like a.. no don't sting things, that's mean!  
> stay fluffy  
> ~Sammi


	3. The Leaky Cauldron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily and her family arrive at the Leaky Cauldron for the first time.

The Evans’ hesitated outside the door to the Leaky Cauldron. Petunia sulked behind her parents, having been dragged unceremoniously out of the house. Lily stood nervously between them, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She noticed that the eyes of the Muggles passing by seemed to slide right over her family and the building without really seeing them.

“Shall we go in then?” Mrs. Evans asked, looking around warily.

“Yes, of course, after you dear,” said Mr. Evans, pushing Lily gently in front of him. Lily stepped up to the entrance, gripping her letter tightly in her left hand, and pushed open the door.

They walked into the Leaky Cauldron and looked around. The shabby pub was not overly crowded; there were a few small groups scattered around. Lily noticed one group was made up entirely of very hairy women who cackled loudly as the Evans’ walked past. Everyone seemed to be dressed in long, old-fashioned looking robes in a wide range of colors. Lily and her family quite obviously stood out.

At the other end of the pub was a long counter with a stooped old man behind it. Lily approached him hesitantly.

“Pardon me sir, are you Tom?”

“Hello there! Why, yes, I am. What can I do for you?” The old man replied, smiling down at her.

“Well, you see, I am a – a Muggle-born,” Lily said the phrase hesitantly, unsure of what Tom’s reaction would be, “I was just wondering if you could possibly help me find, erm, Diagon Alley? If that’s what it’s called…” Lily trailed off, blushing deeply so that her cheeks almost matched her hair.

Tom smiled kindly down at her and waved her through a doorway to the side of the bar. Lily walked slowly through, staring back through the bar as she did so. She noticed there were a lot of strange people there. One couple in the far corner had dark cloaks obscuring their faces but, based on their long, gnarled fingers exposed from their sleeves, Lily was fairly certain they were not entirely human. She shuddered and crossed the threshold to a small courtyard that was empty, save for a couple of dustbins leaning against the far wall.

Tom strode purposefully over to the dustbins, reaching into his apron as he did so, and pulled out what looked like a polished stick. He rapped the stick against the bricks and immediately the bricks surrounding the spot he tapped began to quiver. A hole appeared in the wall, rapidly growing larger and larger until they revealed a large archway with a winding cobbled street stretching out behind it.

Tom turned to Lily and said, “There you are, dear, welcome to Diagon Alley. I assume you’ll need to be exchanging your Muggle money? Yes, well simply make your way down the street to Gringotts, the bank. It’s the building at the end – you can’t miss it. You’ll be able to change it inside. Good day,” and he stepped back inside the pub. Lily looked around at her family, seeing her own surprise mirrored in their faces. Turning towards the street, she led the way through.

As the last person made it through the archway, it began to seal itself up until it once again resembled a normal brick wall. It occurred to Lily that “normal” probably no longer applied to her. She took a deep breath, feeling more overwhelmed now that she was actually there.

“Mum, do you have my Supplies List?”

Mrs. Evans held the list out. Lily took it from her and began reading down it. It seemed like quite a lot and she was skeptical they could really find it all in the one place. Or that she would even know how to buy it, once they had exchanged the money, of course.

“Well I guess our first stop is the bank, yes?” Lily asked, and she set off down the cobblestone street to a grand, snowy white building that towered over the far end of the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well i'm the worst :3 sorry this is late as it is!!  
> good news is that i'm gonna be done moving tomorrow so i can focus on updating :D
> 
> happy first day of summer cupcakes <3  
> ~sammi


	4. Gringotts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily and her family visit Gringotts for the first time.

Lily led her family cautiously up the marble stairs. On either side of the polished bronze doors, two of the weirdest humanoid creatures Lily had ever seen wearing scarlet and gold uniforms bowed to them. Not wanting to be rude, she decided against asking them exactly what they were and she pushed through the doors into the entryway. There stood another set of doors, silver this time, with an ominous inscription engraved on them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Lily felt a shiver run down her spine. _If I ever have children, the first thing I’ll teach them is to never try to rob Gringotts_ , Lily thought, half joking but half not. Two more of the weird creatures bowed them through the second doors and Lily stopped short. She felt her family behind her do the same. They found themselves standing in a vast marble hall. Along one side ran a long counter, behind which were about a hundred more of the creatures. They were scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, and examining precious stones through eyeglasses. Along the other wall were too many doors to count leading off the hall. Even more of the creatures were showing people in and out of these.

Two of the people that had been let out of a door near the entrance, wizards Lily assumed, pushed past her and her family. The wizards glared at Lily, though she could not understand why.

“…These filthy goblins touching all our gold. If we didn’t need the security I’d keep our treasures at home. Unfortunately, the Black family name cannot and will not be disgraced by giving up our vault here.”

“You can never be too safe though, Orion, surely you know that. These creatures may be disgusting but at least they know security.”

“And now they’re letting Mudbloods in too. I’m telling you, nothing is sacred anymore…” Their voices trailed away.

Lily walked up to the counter in front of one of the creatures – goblins – weighing coins. She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

“Um – excuse me – um, sir –“ She began.

The goblin sighed and placed the coins back on the counter. He looked up slowly.

“Yes?” He asked in a gruff voice.

“Um, I need to, um, exchange my money?” Lily said unsurely.

“Of course… and how much would you like to exchange for?” The goblin replied, sounding a little derisive.

“Well, you see, I don’t really know… but I need enough to buy my supplies for school – um, Hogwarts, I mean.”

The goblin sighed and rolled his eyes a little. “350 galleons should cover your school expenses and leave a little extra for spending money.”

“And how much would that be in, you know, Muggle money?” Lily asked.

“The total comes out to £1,725.50,” replied the goblin, now sounding bored.

Lily’s mother handed him the money. Lily noticed her mother’s hand trembling as she reached out to him. The goblin took the money and counted it twice. Then he handed them a woven pouch filled with jangling coins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh wow i am so so soooo very very sorry at how late this is! D:  
> i just started working at a summer camp and i had training 2 weeks ago all week and the first week of camp was last week and lots of screaming children for 8 hours every day is super tiring and i need sleep i'm sorry i'm only human it's a cross we all must bear.
> 
> aaaaaaanyway hooray for chapter 4!!!!!!!  
> i'd *love* to promise that the next chapter will be up this coming tuesday so i can get back to my schedule (considering it's already written and all i have to do is post it...) but there's a staff soccer tournament so i might just come home after and collapse :3
> 
> sorry i suck so much  
> stay shiny my beautiful gems <3  
> ~Sammi

**Author's Note:**

> hey friend :) thanks for reading, i hope you liked it! if you did, or if you have an questions, comments, concerns, death threats, or anything else to say please let me know in the comments!
> 
> the next chapter will be up soon!!
> 
> stay fluffy my cupcakes <3  
> ~sammi


End file.
